TITLE: Peace in the Kingdom
AUTHOR: Jo March
SPOILERS: "What Kind of Day Has It Been." Also "20 Hours in L.A."
DISCLAIMER: They're not mine. They belong to Aaron Sorkin and his corporate
bosses.
ARCHIVE: Sure, just let me know where it is so I can come and visit.
SUMMARY: Donna's day gets off to a very good start.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As always, I could never have done this without Ryo Sen, who
is responsible for putting this idea in my head before she left on her
Adventure in Moving. For those of you keeping score, this story follows the
events of "An Innocent Kiss" and "Alabaster." However, it should come after
as yet untitled (and unfinished) fic that covers the events of "Mandatory
Minimums" and "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics." But, hey, if you know who
Joey Lucas is and why she might not be Donna's favorite person, you'll be
just fine. I just wanted to finish and post this before Wednesday night, for
obvious reasons.
Today is going to be a great day. The sun is shining, the birds are singing,
the flowers are in bloom.
Washington is beautiful this time of year.
And the flowers do not aggravate Josh's allergies. He just says that to be
contentious.
Josh Lyman, the only man I know who would pick a fight with Mother Nature.
This is spring cleaning time, and I have a project. I am going to make order
out of the chaos that is the deputy chief of staff's area. Today is a
perfect day to start such a project, for several reasons.
Reason number one: Josh will spend much of the day involved in the
preparations for the president's appearance at the Newseum this evening. Oh,
sure, he expects me to be at some of those meetings with him, but I can
delegate much of the organizing to the rest of our staff before Josh gets in
this morning.
I love delegating. Makes me positively drunk with power. Spring time in DC
will do that to you.
Reason number two: my friend Curtis, who has a small furniture repair
business, came by this morning and hauled away Josh's chair.
The Bartlet administration, you know, is in favor of helping the small
businessman.
Reason number three (and this, I freely admit, is the one that counts): Joey
Lucas is gone.
Let's take a moment, shall we? Let's take a moment to savor that. Let's
take a moment to taste the sound of those words on our tongues: Joey Lucas is
gone.
Put those words to music and I'll dance.
It's not that I dislike Joey Lucas. As I've said all along, I'm sure she's a
very nice person. I never did get to know her that well myself, but I have
no reason to dislike her. Some people might question the ethics of a woman
who sends out very clear signals to one man (and I know she sent those
signals cause I was at that fundraiser and I saw her do it) while she is
sleeping with another. The ethical thing to do would have been to break up
with man number one before she started coming on to man number two, who had
his heart broken (or at least bruised) unnecessarily.
Not that I'm judging. Relationships can get complicated, after all, and
everyone makes mistakes. I'm just saying, as a friend of man number two,
that it was a cruel thing to do.
But I'm sure she's a very nice woman.
I'm just really glad she's gone.
Now, I'm no fool. I realize she could come back. Two days ago, I made a
discreet inquiry. I asked Kenny the interpreter whether they would be here
long enough to consider moving out of their hotel. Besides having a small
furniture repair business, Curtis owns rental properties. I could always
throw some more business his way.
At that time, Kenny didn't know what Joey's long-term plans were. He said,
rather cryptically, that it would depend "on personal developments." I
remember that it was two days ago because that was the evening I stopped at
Ben & Jerry's on the way home and bought the economy size container of
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. Not that these two events are in any
way related.
Yesterday, however-glorious, glorious yesterday-Kenny and Joey packed up all
their things and left. Gone are her laptop computer, her clock, her family
photos. The only thing she left behind was a White House coffee mug.
I discreetly asked Kenny when we would be seeing them again. He told me that
they had no plans to return in the foreseeable future.
And so this morning, as I let that coffee mug fall to the floor (it made the
most satisfying crash as it shattered into little tiny bits), I rejoiced.
It's my own personal day of jubilee. Joey Lucas is gone, and once more there
is peace in the kingdom.
This is going to be a great day.
I repeat that I am not a fool. The fact that Joey Lucas has left only makes
my relationship with Josh slightly less complicated. It doesn't mean that he
loves me. Hell, it doesn't even mean he's noticed that I'm, you know,
female. And even if he had, well, there are huge complications. The
employer/employee thing, for one. Scandal, PR disaster, Leo would get
pissed, yadda yadda.
I'm just going to have to get over this obsession with Josh that I've
developed in the last few months. Hormones. It's all just hormones. I'm a
grown woman. I can deal with it and move on.
After all, suppose that nothing else ever develops between Josh and me.
Suppose we go on being exactly the way we've always been together? Suppose
we just keep working and bantering and teasing like always? What would be so
bad about that? How many people have any kind of relationship that is this
much fun? I'm still ahead of the game.
The Joey Lucas-less game.
Peace in the kingdom, I tell you.
I'm standing by his office window now, and I see him walking toward the West
Wing. Oh, he's looking good today. And happy. He must be planning to fight
with someone. And he doesn't have the hunched-shoulders, depressed-guy-Josh
look he had after our California encounter with Joey Lucas either. No broken
heart this time. Not even bruised.
I'll say it again: This is going to be a good day.
Mark this one down on your calendars: May 17, 2000. This may turn out to be
one of the best days of my life.